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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

The  Peter  and  Rosell  Harvey 
Memorial  Fund 


RAIL  ROAD  AND  TELEGRAPH  TO  SAN  FRAN- 

CISCO. 


TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  CALIFORNIA  AND  OF  OREGON. 

Fellow  Citizens, 

Constitutional  Scruples  have  never  built  a  Rail  Road  ;  nor 
can  Constitutional  Scruples  exist,  even  for  a  moment,  against 
a  work,  like  the  one  we  propose ;  because  this  work  will  place 
all  the  resources  of  the  Union — Naval,  Military  and  Financial 
— within  the  reach  of  our  Fellow  Citizens,  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
and  will  consequently  form  the  best,  the  cheapest,  the  most 
scientific  defence  of  California  and  of  Oregon.  In  this  point  of 
view,  it  is  pre-eminent  in  its  eff'ect,  and  cannot  be  classed  as 
simply  a  local  work. 

Is  there  a  Statesman — is  there  a  man  of  common  sense,  who 
will  maintain  that  it  is  unconstitutional  for  the  United  States 
to  defend  our  own  Territories ; — merely  because  the  plan  pro- 
posed will  effect  this,  without  charge,  upon  the  Public  Treas- 
ury 7 — merely  because  the  plan  proposed  will  render  the  force 
of  the  United  States  so  formidable,  as  to  command  respect, 
for  our  just  rights,  from  all  Nations,  under  all  circumstances  ; — 
thereby  averting  the  danger  of  Foreign  aggression  and  thus 
avoiding  all  expenditure  of  blood  or  treasure? 

Is  there  a  Statesman,  is  there  a  man  of  common  sense,  who 
will  maintain  that  it  is  unconstitutional,  for  the  United  States 


11 

to  cherish,  to  foster,  to  adopt  a  plan,  which  will  avert  the 
chance  of  Indian  Wars ; — merel7  because  this  will  be  done, 
without  expenditure  of  blood  or  treasure  ? 

Is  there  a  man  of  sense,  who  will  maintain  that  it  is  uncon- 
stitutional, for  the.  United  States  to  make  a  contract,  with  an 
incorporated  company,  for  the  transportation  of  Troops  and 
Munitions  of  War,  at  a  cost  not  one  twentieth  of  what  it  would 
be,  either  round  Cape  Horn  or  by  the  way  of  Panama  ? — and 
at  a  risk,  in  time  of  war,  not  a  fiftieth  of  what  it  would  be,  by 
these  Routes  ? — And  in  reality,  at  no  risk  at  all,  for  most  of  it; 
because  the  mere  existence  of  the  Rail  Road  will,  by  its  silent 
influence,  command  Peace,  and  will  therefore  render  the  Trans- 
portation of  Troops  and  of  Munitions  of  War,  to  any  great 
extent,  entirely  unnecessary  1 

Will  any  one  maintain  that  it  is  unconstitutional  for  the 
United  States  to  make  a  Contract,  with  an  incorporated  Rail 
Road  Co.,  for  the  Transportation  of  the  Mail,  both  on  the  land 
and  by  lightning,  in  the  only  way  worthy  of  the  Age  we 
live  in  ? 

Is  there  an  enlightened  man,  who  will  maintain  that  the 
Power  to  make  War  and  to  defend  the  Country,  which  is  ex- 
clusively vested  in  Congress, — should  not  be  exercised  to  avert 
war  ? — should  not  be  exercised  to  secure  the  Right  to  transmit, 
by  lightning,  to  our  possessions  on  the  Pacific, — the  news  of 
the  declaration  of  War,  by  any  European  Power,  against  the 
United  States  ? 

Is  it  not  perfectly  clear,  that  the  frame  of  a  large  War- 
Steamer,  marked  and  numbered,  and  her  Armament,  as  well  as 
all  that  is  to  belong  to  her,  being  at  rest,  at  the  Charlestown 
Navy  Yard,  could,  in  ten  days,  be  transported,  on  the  Rail 
Road  to  San  Francisco,  with  all  the  workmen  and  seamen, 
needed  to  put  her  together  and  to  man  her? — and  is  it  not 


Ill 

equally  clear  that  our  web  of  Rail  Roads  would,  in  a  like 
manner,  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  all  the  Naval  resources  of  our  Atlantic  Sea- 
board 7 

Away  then,  with  the  pusillanimous  and  .degrading  notion, 
that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  so  unskilfully 
framed,  as  to  deprive  us  of  the  capacity  of  being  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  powerful  nations  on  earth  ! — The  wise  men 
who  framed  this  Constitution  would  have  shuddered,  at  the 
very  thought  of  having  placed  in  fetters  the  high  destiny  of 
our  Great  Country  ! 

It  is  therefore  beyond  a  doubt  Constitutional,  for  Congress  to 
make  or  impel  to  be  made  as  many  and  such  military  Roads, 
as  may  be  necessary,  for  acquiring  the  capacity  of  concentrat- 
ing, as  if  it  were  by  enchantment,  all  the  military  and  all  the 
Naval  resources  of  the  Union,  upon  any  given  point ; — and  it 
is  not  the  less  Constitutional,  if  the  plan  proposed  reaches  this 
great  result,  without  a  wasteful  expenditure  of  blood  and 
treasure. 

THE  PLAN  OF  P.  P.  F.  DEGRAND  INSURES  THE 
BUILDING  OF  THIS  TELEGRAPHIC  LINE  WITHIN 
TWO  YEARS  AND  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THIS 
RAIL  ROAD  WITHIN  FOUR  YEARS;  because  the  Na- 
tional Credit  will  import  the  needful  funds  from  Europe,  while 
individual  sagacity  will  invest  those  funds  in  the  work,  with 
the  greatest  celerity,  well  knowing  that  the  Road  must  be  fin- 
ished, before  it  can  be  made  profitable. — We  deem  this  the  all 
important  point— THE  FINISHING  THE  ROAD  IN  THE 
SHORTEST  TIME  ALLOWED,  BY  ITS  PHYSICAL 
OBSTACLES.— It  is  this  finishing  of  the  Telegraph  and  of  the 
Rail  Road  Line,  which  will  enable  mothers,  sisters,  friends  and 
fellow  citizens,  (living  3,000  Miles  apart,)  to  converse  and  to 


IV 


visit,  as  if  they  were  near  neighbors, — and  it  is  this  finishing 
the  work  quickly,  which  will  enable  them  to  do  it ;  before  the 
present  generation  shall  have  passed  away. 

Allow  us  then  to  call  upon  you  to  give  us  your  aid,  in  mould- 
ing public  sentiment,  by  a  diffusion  of  the  knowledge  of  a  plan, 
which  is  to  secure  these  great  blessings,  while  you  live, — It  is 
Public  Sentiment  which  will  impel  Congress  to  sanction  an  act 
pregnant  with  the  mightiest  consequences,  for  the  welfare  and 
for  the  high  fame  of  our  Great  Nation. 


WILLIAM  INGALLS, 
E.  H.  DERBY, 
JAMES  C.  DUNN, 
S.  S.  LITTLEHALE, 
P.  P.  F.  DEGRAND, 
ROBT.  F.  FISK, 
O.  D.  ASHLEY, 


>  Committee. 


KAIL   ROAD   TO   SAN   FRANCISCO. 


At  a  Meeting  of  the  friends  of  a  Rail  Road  to  Cal- 
ifornia, convened  by  public  notice,  in  the  Newspapers, 
at  the  United  States  Hotel,  on  the  evening  of  the  19th 
of  April,  1849, 

Dr.  WILLIAM  INGxlLLS,  was  chosen  Chairman, 

THOMAS  R.  SEWALL,  Secretary. 

P.  P.  F.  Degrand,  after  a  few  preliminary  remarks, 
read  "  An  Address  to  the  People  of  the  United  States," 
setting  forth  the  Plan  which  he  proposes,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  effecting  the  object  in  view. 

Robert  F.  Fisk,  after  some  pertinent  and  inter- 
esting remarks,  proposed  the  following  Resolves : 

Resolved,  That  this  Meeting  approve  the  Address  pre- 
sented hy  P.  P.  P.  Degrand^  and  the  Plan  therein  set 
forth^  for  a  Railroad  from  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco, 
deeming  it  the  only  plan,  as  yet  proposed,  which  can  secure, 
promptly  and  certainly,  and  hy  a  single  act  of  Legislation, 
the  Construction  of  a  Railroad  to  California,  in  the  short- 
est time  allowed,  hy  its  physical  obstacles. 


Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  seven  be  appointed 
to  transmit  this  plan  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  request  him,  (if  he  approve  it,)  to  recom- 
mend its  adoption  by  Congress. 

Resolved,  That  this  Committee  suggest  to  the  Presi- 
dent the  importance  of  immediately  adopting  such  meas- 
ures as  may  be  necessary  to  secure  the  Indian  Title  to 
the  land  for  this  Rail  Road,  and  to  procure  the  prelimi- 
nary surveys,  and  all  the  information  which  may  be 
within  the  reach  of  the  Executive,  to  be  laid  before  Con- 
gress at  the  opening  of  the  next  session. 

Resolved,  That  this  Committee  transmit  the  plan,  (in 
a  pamphlet  form,)  to  the  Heads  of  Department,  to  each 
member  of  Congress,  to  the  Governors  of  the  several 
States,  and  of  the  Territories  of  Oregon,  and  California, 
and  other  Territories,  and  to  the  various  Newspapers,  for 
general  circulation,  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  each  one  of  us  be  a  Committee,  to 
impart  the  views  contained  in  the  Address,  and  the  rea- 
sons therefor,  as  generally  as  possible,  and  to  diffuse  the 
same  through  the  Public  Press,  in  all  parts  of  the  Union ; 
thus  moulding  Public  Opinion,  whose  all-powerful  im- 
pulse will  produce  the  desired  result. 

P.  P.  F.  Degrand  made  some  further  remarks. 
E.  H.  Derby  addressed  the  Meeting  in  a  very  eloquent 
speech. 


Joseph  G.  Martin  read  a  very  late  letter,  from  Wm. 
Hooper,  in  California,  confirming  the  previous  accounts 
of  the  abundance  of  Gold,  and  also  read  a  paragraph 
from  the  St.  Louis  Eepublican,  showing  the  rush  from 
the  whole  West  towards  California. 

Dea.  Samuel  Greele  addressed  the  Meeting,  elo- 
quently describing  the  moral  effects  of  this  E-ail  Road ; 
after  which,  the  Resolves  proposed  hy  Robert  F.  Fisk 
were  unanimously  adopted. 

On  motion  of  P.  P.  F.  Degrand,  the  Chairman  of  this 
Meeting  was  nominated,  unanimously,  to  be  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  appointed  by  one  of  the  foregoing  Re- 
solves. 

Voted,  That  the  Chairman  nominate  the  other  Mem- 
bers of  the  Committee,  and  he  proposed  the  following : 

E.  H.  Derby,  P.  P.  F.  Degrand, 

James  C.  Dunn,  Robert  F.  Fisk, 

S.  S.  Littlehale,  O.  D.  Ashley. 

They  were  unanimously  approved,  and  the  Meeting 
was  dissolved. 

WILLIAM  INGALLS,  Chairman. 

THOMAS  R.  SEWALL,  Secretary, 


A D  D  EE  S  S 


TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

RAIL  ROAD  FROM  ST.  LOUIS  TO  SAN  FRA.NCISCO. 

Fellow  Citizens  : 

/  propose  that  a  Company  (COMPOSED  OF  MEN,  IN 
WHOSE  INTEGRITY  AND  STEADINESS  OF  PURPOSE, 
CONFIDENCE  CAN  BE  REPOSED,  BY  THE  NATION,) 

be  chartered  by  Congress,  to  construct  a  Rail  Road  from  St.  Louis 
to  San  Francisco,  with  a  capital  of  100  Millions  of  dollars,  and 
that  this  company,  (after  having  paid  in  $2,000,000,)  shall 
have  the  right  to  borrow  United  States  6  percent.  Stock,  to  such 
an  amount,  (not  exceeding  $98,000,000,)  as  may  be  sufficient 
to  finish  the  Road  and  carry  it  into  full  operation,  with  a  double 
track. 

I  propose  that  Congress  give  to  this  Company,  a  strip  of  the 
Public  Lands,  10  Miles  wide,  on  the  North  side  of  the  Road,  and 
the  Land  for  the  bed  of  the  Road,  and  for  Depots,  and  the  right  to 
take,  from  the  Public  Lands,  Wood,  Gravel,  Stone,  Iron,  and 
other  materials,  necessary  to  construct  the  Road. 

The  adoption  of  this  plan  will  secure  the  completion  of  the 
Road,  in  as  brief  a  space  of  time,  as  may  be  permitted,  by  its 
physical  obstacles  :— and  WILL  SECURE  THIS  BY  A  SIN- 
GLE ACT  OF  CONGRESS,  free  from  the  chance  of  future 
freaks  of  Legislation.  THIS  IS  THE  DISTINGUISHING 
FEATURE  OF  MY  PLAN,— awe?  it  is  free  from  the  objection 
of  absorbing  the  private  resources  of  active  men  ; — and  free  from 
the  risk  of  halting^  in  this  great  work^  at  every  step^  for  want  of 
tangible  means. 

I  propose  that,  immediately  after  the  Surveys  are  made,  the 
Company  proceed  to  construct  this  Rail  Road  on  the  whole 
Route,  going  to  work,  at  once,  on  as  many  different  parts  as 
practicable;  and  building  at  difficult  points,  temporary  Rail 
Roads,  to  be  used  while  the  permanent  Rail  Road  is  construct- 


ing  : — and  actually  bringing  into  use  the  various  portions  of  the 
Road,  as  fast  as  completed. 

The  Company,  being  thus  in  possession  of  tangible  means, 
and  acting  under  a  sense  of  the  imperative  necessity  of  giving 
to  the  public  the  facilities  of  Rail  Road  travelling,  as  fast  as 
practicable,  will  very  soon  reduce  to  a  moderate  distance,  the 
inconveniences  of  a  Land  Journey  to  California,  and  will  secure 
the  completion  of  the  entire  line,  in  the  briefest  period  practica- 
ble : — and  in  the  interim,  the  Mail-Stage  and  the  traveller,  by 
the  Land-Route,  by  following,  as  near  as  convenient,  the  Track 
marked  out  for  the  Rail  Road,  will  avail  themselves  more  and 
more,  every  day,  of  the  comfort  and  protection,  naturally  inci- 
dent to  the  incipient  stages  of  civilization,  which  accumulate 
on  the  line  of  a  Rail  Road,  from  the  very  moment  it  is  begun, 
to  the  day  of  its  completion. 

I  propose  that,  while  the  Road  is  constructing,  a  Line  of  Tel- 
egraph be  established,  as  far  and  as  fast  as  practicable,  to  trans- 
mit intelligence  for  the  purposes  of  the  Road,  and  for  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  for  the  public  generally. 

I  propose  that  no  stinuilus,  stronger  than  Cold  Water,  be  al- 
lowed to  be  used,  by  the  officers  and  men,  employed  by  the 
Road,  or  by  the  Contractors.  This  Rule  has  been  found  of  in- 
estimable value,  in  Building  and  carrying  on  the  New  England 
Rail  Roads,  in  the  construction  of  the  Boston  Water  Works,  and 
in  the  Navigation  of  New  England  vessels. 

I  propose  that,  at  points  of  any  difficulty,  two  separate  sets  of 
men  (relieving  each  other,)  be  employed,  to  secure  the  continu- 
ation of  the  work,  night  mid  day,  and  that,  at  the  most  difficult 
points,  three  separate  parties  of  men  (working,  each  of  them  8 
hours  a  day,)  be  employed,  to  secure  continual  work,  without 
interruption,  either  by  meal-times  or  by  night,  employing,  in  all 
cases,  as  many  men,  as  can  work  to  advantage,  and  having  all 
sorts  of  work  going  on,  at  the  same  time,  for  the  purposes  of  the 
Road,  both  on  the  Route  of  the  Road,  and  elsewhere;  so  that 
there  may  be  no  delay,  which  can  be  avoided.  This  course  was 
pursued,  in  bringing  the  Waters  of  Cochituate  Lake,  into  Bos- 
ton, from  a  distance  of  20  miles,  through  two  summits  and  great 
physical  obstacles  : — and  in  the  unprecedented ly  short  space  of  2 
years  and  2  months,  from  the  day  the  1st  spade  struck  the 


ground^  to  begin  the  work^  the  City  and  its  Citizens  found  them- 
selves, in  the  full  use  of  the  water,  flowing  through  a  wm^k,  calcu- 
lated to  endure  for  ages. 

The  importance,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  of  using  the 
Road,  at  an  early  day,  is  shown  by  appendix  B,  by  which  it 
will  be  perceived,  that  the  extra  expense  of  tr4velling,  is  es- 
timated AT  $67,750,000  A  year,  over  and  above  what  it  will  be 
after  the  Rail  Road  is  in  use. 

The  ARGUMENTS,  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  PLAN,  ARE  FULLY  ELUCIDATED 
IN  THE  APPENDIX.  By  MOVING  FOR  THIS  PLAN,  THE  FRIENDS  OF  THE 
MEASURE  WILL,  BY  ONE  SINGLE  EFFORT,  VlZ.,  *'tHE  PASSING  OF  THE 
ACT,"  SECURE  THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  RoAD,  IN  THE  SHORTEST  POS- 
SIBLE TIME  ;  WHEREAS,  IF  THEY  ADOPT  ANY  PLAN,  WHICH  RELIES  ON 
FUNDS  CREATED  BY  THE  SaLE  OF  THE  LaND  ;  OR  ON  A  LARGE  AMOUNT  OF 

FUNDS,  FROM  PRIVATE  INDIVIDUALS  ;  or  on  funds  to  be,  from  time  to 
time,  appropriated  by  Congress, — they  will  impose  upon  them-' 

SELVES  THE  NEVER-CEASING  LABOR  OF  SiSYPHUS,  AND  BY  THE  DE- 
LAY WASTE  ENORMOUS   SUMS  FOR  THE  NaTION.  ^ 

To  secure  the  Loan  of  the  United  States  Stock,  made  to  the 
Company,  and  to  secure  the  carrying  forward,  in  good  faith,  of 
the  contract  made  with  the  Company,  the  United  States  may,  if 
they  desire  it,  take  a  mortgage  of  the  Road,  and  its  appurtenan- 
ces ;  take  ^  of  the  Stock ;  and  appoint  J  of  the  Directors,  fol- 
lowing the  precedent  so  successfully  practised,  by  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  in  the  case  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Road, 
(commonly  called  the  Western  Rail  Road,)  in  which  case,  as 
in  the  contemplated  charter,  the  Rail  Road  Company  do  provide 
punctually  for  the  Payment  of  the  interest  on  the  Public  funds 
Loaned  to  them,  and  also  are  to  provide,  and  are  providing,  by 
a  sinking  fund,  (and  occasionally  by  extinguishment  by  pur- 
chase,) for  the  Payment,  at  maturity,  of  the  Principal  of  the 
Public  Loan. 

The  $98,000,000  of  the  United  States  6  per  cent.  Stock,  loaned 
to  the  Company,  being  Coupon  Stock,  payable  in  London,  will, 
(as  have  the  Massachusetts  Sterling  5's,  in  the  case  of  the  West- 
ern Road,)  furnish,  at  any  time  of  need.  Exchange  on  England, 
to  be  sent  there,  in  lieu  of  our  specie,  and  operate  as  additional 
capital,  to  be  used  by  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

The  $98,000,000  of  United  States  Stock,  loaned  to  the  Com- 


pany,  (being  made  payable  at  the  Rate  of  $2,000,000  per  annum, 
after  50  years,)  will  be  paid  off,  by  the  Company,  with  perfect 
ease,  either  by  actual  Profits,  or  by  the  creation  of  new  Stock, 
to  represent  the  amount  paid  off. 

THE  OTHER  DISTINGUISHING  FEATURE  OF  MY 
PLAN  IS  THE  CREATION,  BY  A  SINGLE  ACT  OF  LEG- 
ISLATION, OF  ONE  HUNDRED  MILLIONS  OF  DOL- 
LARS  OF  AMERICAN  LABOR,  BY  ORDERING,  IN  THE 
VERY  CHARTER,  THAT  THE  MATERIALS  USED  IN 
THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  ROAD  SHALL  BE  EX- 
CLUSIVELY OF  DOMESTIC  ORIGIN.  THESE  ONE 
HUNDRED  MILLIONS  OF  TANGIBLE  MONEY  WILL 
NATURALLY,  DIRECTLY  OR  INDIRECTLY,  BE  DIS-' 
TRIBUTED  TO  PAY  FOR  THE  LABOR,  THE  MANU- 
FACTURES, AND  THE  AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCTS 
OF  EVERY  STATE  IN  THE  UNION,  AND  WILL  SET 
THE  WHOLE  INDUSTRY  OF  THE  WHOLE  COUNTRY 
IN   MOTION. 

The  moment  this  Rail  Road  is  made,  it  will  be  the  great  thor- 
oughfare for  the  Mail  and  for  passengers,  from  Europe  to  the  Pa- 
cific and  to  India.  The  saving  of  Interest  (by  the  saving  of  time) 
and  the  saving  of  insurance,  for  gold  and  silver  and  for  valuable 
goods,  will  secure  to  the  Nation  a  great  profit  and  a  vast  trade. 

Whether  we  consider  this  Rail  Road  as  an  indissoluble  bond 
of  Union  between  greatly  distant  parts  of  our  widely  extended 
Empire;  or  as  a  means  of  averting  European  Wars  and  Wars 
with  the  Indian  Tribes ;  or  as  a  means  of  transporting  the  Mail 
and  communicating  Telegraphic  intelligence ;  or  as  a  measure 
of  Internal  Commerce,  so  vast,  so  varied,  as  to  defy  all  prece- 
dent ;  or  as  a  measure  for  National  Glory,  obtained  without 
waste  of  blood  or  treasure,  by  constructing  and  completing,  in  a 
brief  space  of  time,  the  Great  work  of  the  Age, — we  are  irre- 
sistibly led  to  the  conclusion,  that  National  Glory  and  National 
Interest  alike  dictate  the  adoption,  at  the  earliest  day,  of  a  mea- 
sure calculated  to  obtain,  for  the  present  generation,  the  honor, 
which  posterity  will  award  to  those  who  secure,  for  all  future 
ages  and  by  this  single  act  of  Legislation,  the  immeasurable 
benefits  flowing  from  the  existence  of  this  great  work. 

P.  P.  F.  DEGRAND. 


APPENDIX  TO  THE  ADDRESS. 


A* 

RAILROAD  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Remarks  by  P.  P.  F.  Degrand,  at  Cohasset,  at  the  opening 
OF  THE  South  Shore  Railroad,  January  1,  1849. 

If  we  take  into  view  the  actual  wealth  created  by  the  exist- 
ence of  a  Rail  Road,  it  will  be  found  that  the  actual  cost  of  a 
Rail  Road  is  (as  to  the  whole  community)  less  than  nothing. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  South  Shore  Rail  Road.  The  actual  rise 
of  land  on  its  borders,  caused  by  the  existence  of  the  Rail 
Road,  cannot  be  valued,  on  an  average,  at  less  than  $50  an 
acre,  for  a  strip,  two  miles  wide,  on  each  side  of  the  Rail  Road. 
A  square  mile  contains  six  hundred  and  forty  acres ;  which 
gives  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  every  mile 
of  the  road,  taking  a  strip  two  miles  wide  on  each  side  of  it. 

The  rise  of  $50  per  acre  on  2560  acres,  gives  an  additional 
value  to  the  land  of  $128,000  for  every  mile  of  the  road. 
Each  mile  of  the  road,  therefore,  creates  wealth  to  the  amount 
of $128,000 

While  the  road  only  costs,  per  mile,     .        .        .  28,000 

Whence  it  necessarily  follows  that  it  costs,  in  fact,     $100,000 
per  mile  less  than  nothing. 

Is  not  the  case  demonstrated  beyond  all  doubt  and  cavil  ? 
Will  not,  in  fact,  the  land  very  soon  rise,  in  some  places,  twenty 
cents  per  square  foot,  which  makes  $8,800  per  acre. 

This  rise  of  the  land,  and  of  other  property,  real  and  personal, 
right  and  left  of  a  Rail  Road,  accounts  for  the  facility  with 
which  thousands  of  millions  have,  within  the  last  twenty  years, 


become  tangible,  and  have  been  spontaneously  appropriated  to 
make  Rail  Roads  of  vast  extent  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The 
existence  of  a  Rail  Road  not  only  creates  the  wealth  which  re- 
pays its  own  cost,  but  it  also  creates  the  means  wherewith  to 
build  the  next  Rail  Road. 

This  vast  creation  of  wealth,  by  the  existence  of  a  Rail  Road, 
will  easily  produce  the  cost  of  the  rail-road  line  in  continuation 
of  the  South  Shore  Rail  Road,  (via  Boston,)  to  St.  Louis,  in  Mis- 
souri, or  to  some  other  point  in  the  West,  and  thenc6  to  San 
Francisco,  the  centre  of  the  gold  region,  and  the  future  centre  of 
the  trade  of  the  Pacific,  and  of  India.  Private  enterprise,  aid- 
ed by  donations,  from  Congress,  of  alternate  sections  of  land, 
will  do  much  to  carry  this  line  to  St.  Louis,  in  Missouri.  But, 
farther  on,  the  national  arm  should,  in  its  might,  push  unhesita- 
tingly the. great  work  to  completion  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 
It  should  do  it  by  the  mighty  lever  of  the  public  credit,  thus 
leaving  private  resources  to  fill  up  the  manifold  channels  of  em- 
ployment opened  by  our  late  vast  accession  to  our  already  vast 
empire. 

From  St.  Louis,  in  Missouri,  to  San  Francisco,  the  distance 
is  1600  miles.  At  $66,666  per  mile,  fully  equipped,  the  Rail- 
Road  will  cost  $100,000,000.  Let  a  charter  with  this  capital 
be  granted  by  Congress,  to  a  company,  in  which  individuals 
take  the  stock  and  furnish  $2,000,000  of  the  capital,  obtaining 
from  the  United  States  the  loan  of  United  States  stock  for  the 
balance.  Let  this  company  be  bound  to  carry  the  mail  and  to 
carry  troops  and  munitions  of  war,  on  very  reasonable  terms ; 
and  let  Congress  also  grant  them,  through  the  public  lands,  a 
strip  ten  miles  wide,  on  the  North  side  of  the  Road,  and  let  the 
company  be  beimd  to  build  the  road  with  American  iron  and 
other  materials  exclusively  of  domestic  origin. 

Let  us  now  consider  what  will  be  the  consequences  of  such  a 
plan  : — 

Thus  fortified,  with  tangible  means,  the  Road  will  be  built 
in  five  years.  When  buill,  its  very  existence  will  defend  our 
possessions  on  the  Pacific.  It  will  avert  all  danger  of  Indian 
wars  J  North  and  South  of  its  line.  Upon  its  bed,  a  telegraphic 
wire  loill  enable  the  Government  to  issue  its  orders  to  California 
2 


10 

and  to  Oregon,  with  the  rapidity  of  Hghtning— and   will  trans- 
mit individual  correspondence  with  the  same  electric  speed. 

In  case  of  a  declaration  of  war  against  the  United  States  by 
a  European  Power,  the  instantaneous  transmission  of  the  news 
and  of  the  implements  of  war,  including  even  seamen,  to  our 
possessions  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  will  give  us  the  command 
of  the  trade  of  our  enemy  in  the  India  Seas,  and  enable  us  to 
protect  our  own. 

The  cost  of  this  Rail  Road  will  be  more  than  repaid,  by  the 
additional  value  which  it  will  impart  to  the  Public  Lands  West 
of  Missouri. 

Employing  Iron  and  other  materials^  exclusively  American^ 
will  give  life  and  animation  at  once  to  a  great  mass  of  industry^ 
now  lying  dormant. 

The  plan  now  proposed^  will  finish  the  Road,  in  the  short 
space  of  five  years,  because  the  money  will  be  easily  obtained,  by 
the  sale  of  United  States  Stocks. 

Another  plan,  which  is  before  the  public,  contemplates  to  create 
the  money  by  the  sale  of  the  land.  But  by  following  that  plan, 
the  land  cannot  be  sold,  until  after  the  Road  is  built,  and  the 
money  to  build  the  Road,  ca?inot  be  tangible,  until  the  land  is 
sold.  The  plan  is  therefore  radically  defective.  If  it  be  adopted 
and  adhered  to,  50  years  will  not  suffice  to  bring  the  Road  to 
completion. 

And  what  is  50  years,  as  to  the  accumtdation  of  interest,  while 
the  Road  is  in  construction  7  It  is  an  increase  of  its  cost  more 
thati  four  fold.  And  what  is  50  years,  in  the  onward  march  of 
this  mighty  Nation  7  It  is,  {judgi7ig  from  the  past,)  the  in- 
crease of  its  population,  from  22  millions,  its  present  number^ 
to  the  prodigious  number  of  SS  7?iillions.  And  what  is  50  years, 
in  the  existence  of  most  of  us  7  Alas  !  it  is  the  passing  to  the 
grave  of  more  than  two  generations. 

As  to  the  constitutional  power  of  Congi^ess,  thus  to  loan  the 
public  credit,  to  the  amount  of  $98,000,000,  there  cannot,  in 
this  case,  be  a  shadow  of  doubt ;  because  this  loan  is  made,  in 
pursuance  to  the  clearly  defined  powers  of  Congress,  viz. : — 

To  provide  for  the  National  defence  : 

To  pi'ovide  for  the  transportation  of  the  mail,  (which  will  be 
done,  both  on  the  land  and  by  lightning :) 


To  take  provident  care  of  the  public  domain,  by  increasing 
its  value,  by  the  best  known  modes  of  internal  communi- 
cation : 
To  cement  the  bonds  of  union,  between  parts  of  this  vast  em- 
pire, which   will  be  thus  rivetted  together,  by  unceasing 
intercourse. 
Mr.  President : — I  perceive  that  you  are  already  convinced, 
and  that  you  go  with  me  and  with  my  intelligent  fellow  citizens 
around  me,  for  a  Rail  Road  to  San  Francisco,  and  for  a  Rail 
Road  to  be  used  before  most  of  us  shall  have  departed  for  another 
world.     Let  us  then  resolve  that  it  shall  forthwith  be  done,  and 
it  is  done ;  and  let  us  say : 

The  South  Shore  Rail  Road — Its  extension,  via  Boston,  in 
the  shortest  time  possible,  to  San  Francisco,  by  the  mighty 
lever  of  the  National  credit. 


B. 

RAILROAD  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

[Extract  from  P.  P.  F.  Degrand's  Remarks.]  When  the 
Rail  Road  is  in  operation,  from  Boston  to  San  Francisco,  the 
length  of  passage,  for  its  3,000  miles,  (going  night  and  day,  at 
the  rate  of  25  miles  per  hour,  including  stops,)  will,  for  the  ex- 
press train,  be  only  5  days. 

For  1st  class  cars,  at  2  cents  per  mile,  the  fare  will 
be  only       ......  $60 

For  2d  class  cars,  at  1  cent  per  mile,  the  fare  will 

be  only        ......  $30 

The  cost  then  of  transporting,  from  the  Atlantic  sea-board, 
150,000  persons  to  California,  and  of  bringing  back  50,000  per- 
sons from  California,  will  be  as  follows : — 

Fare  of  150,000  passengers,  1st  class,  at  $60  each,  $9,000,000 
Time  and  food,  for  said  150,000  passengers,  for  5 

days,  at  $5  per  day,  say  $25  for  each  person,  .  3,750,000 
Fare  of  50,000  2d  class  passengers,  at  $30  each,  .  1,500,000 
Time  and  food,  for  said  50,000  passengers,  for  5 

days,  at  $2  per  day,  say  $10  for  each  person,       .     $500,000 

Total  cost  by  the  Rail  Road  Line,  .  .  $14,750,000 


12 

The  Express  train  can  be  provided  with  berths  and  other 
conveniences,  for  the  night  time.  It  can  make  short  stops,  at 
convenient  places,  for  meals.  It  can  be  provided  with  Newspa- 
pers, Pamphlets,  Books,  Chess-Boards,  Backgammon  Boards, 
and  other  amusements,  as  is  a  Steam  boat.  The  cars  can  be  well 
ventilated,  night  and  day,  by  Espy's  at  the  top,  and  can  be 
lighted  by  lamps,  serving  also  as  ventilators.  On  a  portion  of 
the  Road,  they  can  occasionally,  have  a  Band  of  Music. 

If  it  be  said  that  all  the  travellers  will  not  elect  to  go  by  the 
Express  train,  night  and  day,  and  that  there  should  be,  for 
their  time,  a  greater  allowance  than  5  days,  the  reply  is,  that 
many  of  the  Travellers  will,  at  their  starting  point,  be  at  the 
west  of  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  as,  for  instance,  he  who  starts 
from  St.  Louis,  in  Missouri.  Starting  thence,  he  will  spend  only 
about  half  the  time,  and  pay  only  about  half  the  fare  of  him 
who  starts  from  the  Atlantic  sea-board;  because  his  journey 
will  be  only  1,600  miles. 

We  may,  therefore,  safely  estimate,  that  the  above  amount, 
$14,750,000,  will  be  the  average  of  the  whole,  by  the  Rail  Road 
line. 

Let  us  now  examine  what  is  the  expense,  by  the  sea  route, 
for  the  same  individuals. 

To  transport,  by  the  sea  route,  the  same  number  of  persons, 
will  cost  as  follows,  part  going  round  Cape  Horn,  part  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  part  through  the  Isthmus  of  Pan- 
ama:—  i 

Passage  for  150,000  1st  class  passengers,  at  $160 

each,  .....  $22,500,000 

Time  of  said  150,000  passengers,  for  100  days,  on 
an  average,  at  $3 J  per  day,  say  $350  for  each  per- 
son, .....  52,500,000 

Passage  for  50,000  2d  class  passengers,  at  $50  each,    2,500,000 

Time  of  said  50,000  passengers,  100  days  on  an  aver- 
age, at  $1  per  day,  say  $100  for  each  person,       .     5,000,000; 


Total  cost  by  the  sea  route,  .             .             .  $82,500,000 

Deduct  cost  by  the  Rail  Road  line,    .            .  14,750,000 

Clear  saving  in  the  expense,  .            .            .  $67,750,000  ' 

rah  f>: 


18 

To  this  saving  we  may  add  the  extra  risk  of  life,  by  the  sea 
route,  and  the  disappointments  and  extra  delays  occasionally 
incident  to  a  voyage  by  sea. 

In  point  of  time,  of  great  hardships  and  of  expense,  the  route 
by  land,  as  it  now  exists,  over  a  trackless  waste,  compares  even 
more  unfavorably  with  the  Rail  Road  line. 

If,  then,  we  estimate  that  there  will  go  to  California  annually, 
150,000  persons,  and  that  100,000  of  them  will  settle  there,  and 
50,000  come  back,  the  annual  saving  of  expense,  by  having 
the  Rail  Road,  will  be  $67,750,000. 

IN  OTHER  WORDS,  THE  SAVING  IN  TWO  YEARS 
WILL  MORE  THAN  REPAY  TO  THE  NATION,  THE 
WHOLE  COST  OF  THE  RAIL  ROAD  FROM  ST.  LOUIS, 
TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

IF  WE  ADOPT  THE  PLAN,  NOW  BEFORE  CON- 
GRESS, OF  BUILDING  THE  ROAD,  WITH  THE  CASH 
PRODUCED  BY  THE  SALE  OF  THE  LAND  GIVEN  BY 
THE  UNITED  STATES,  (WHICH  LAND  CANNOT  BE 
SOLD  AND  REDUCED  TO  CASH,  UNTIL  THE  ROAD  IS 
BUILT,)  WE  SHALL  INEVITABLY  DELAY  THE  COM- 
PLETION OF  THE  ROAD,  MORE  THAN  FIFTY  YEARS. 
THE  LOSS  OF  $67,750,000  A  YEAR,  AMOUNTS  IN  FIF- 
TY YEARS,  TO  $3,387,500,000;  A  SUM  SUFFICIENT  TO 
PAY  OFF  THE  WHOLE  BRITISH  NATIONAL  DEBT ! 

Shall  this  enlightened  Nation — responsible  as  we  are  for  our 
high  fame — tamely  submit  to  this  disgraceful  and  enormous 
loss  ?  Or  shall  we  avert  it  and  show  ourselves  worthy  of  our 
high  destiny,  by  the  simple  process  of  borrowing  United  States 
Stock,  to  the  amount  of  $98,000,000;  thereby  creating  the  tan- 
gible and  efficient  means  of  completing  this  Great  National 
Work,  in  the  short  space  of  five  years  1 


14 


C. 

RAIL  ROAD  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris,  Editor  Olive  Branch,  Boston  : 

Boston^  17  Febmary^  1849. 

Dear  Sir  : — Agreeably  to  your  request,  I  will  give  you  my 
views  of  the  Bill  and  Speech  of  Col.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  on 
the  Rail  Road  to  San  Francisco. 

The  Speech  is  worthy  of  an  attentive  consideration,  by  every 
citizen.  It  is  replete  with  highly  valuable  information,  and  ele- 
vated National  views,  worthy  of  our  high  destiny.  It  shows, 
beyond  a  doubt,  from  the  exceedingly  precious  information  ob- 
tained by  the  indefatigable  and  talented  Col.  Fremont,  that  the 
Route  from  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco,  is  a  practicable  and  even 
a  good  Rail  Road  Route, — and  it  also  shows,  very  clearly,  that 
St.  Louis  is  marked  out  as  the  proper  starting  point,  by  being  a 
central  place  already  accessible,  by  Steam,  to  every  portion  of 
the  United  States,  North,  South,  and  East  of  that  City ;  and  by 
its  being  made,  every  day,  more  and  more  accessible.  Winter^ 
as  well  as  Summer,  by  the  Rail  Roads  now  in  progress. 

Col.  Benton  demonstrates,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  necessity  of 
making  at  once,  an  ample  appropriation  to  obtain  the  Right  of 
way,  for  this  Rail  Road,  from  the  Indian  Tribes,  and  of  making 
also,  at  once,  a  collection  of  all  the  information,  to  enable  Con- 
gress to  mark  out  the  exact  line  of  the  Rail  Road.  I  hope  and 
trust  that  the  present  Session  will  not  be  allowed  to  pass,  with- 
out the  enacting  of  a  Law,  to  that  effect.  Col.  Benton's  plan 
is,  in  the  main,  a  very  good  one ;  but  it  differs  from  mine  in 
some  important  features,  and  so  far  as  it  differs,  I  give  the  pre- 
ference to  my  own,  for  reasons,  which  I  will  submit  to  your  and 
his  consideration,  and  to  the  consideration  of  my  fellow  Citizens. 

FIRST  AND  FOREMOST.— THE  DISTINGUISHING 
FEATURE  OF  MY  PLAN  IS,  THAT  ONE  SINGLE  ACT 
OF  LEGISLATION,  SHALL  SUFFICE  TO  DECIDE 
MATHEMATICALLY,  AND  IRREVOCABLY,  THAT  THE 
ROAD  SHALL  BE  A  RAIL  ROAD,  ALL  THE  WAY  FROM 
ST.  LOUIS  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO,  AND  THAT  IT  SHALL 
BE  BUILT,  IN  THE  SHORTEST  POSSIBLE  SPACE  OF 
TIME. 


15 

An  act  passed,  according  to  my  plan^  will  produce  this  effect. 
It  will  give,  irrevocably,  to  the  Company,  tangible  funds,  ena- 
bling them,  at  once,  to  make  all  the  contracts  necessary  to  car- 
ry every  portion  of  the  Road  to  completion,  as  briefly  as  phys- 
ical obstacles  will  permit.  The  plan  of  Col.  Benton  will 
require  (before  it  can  have  suflacient  tangible  funds,)  some  time 
and  many  acts  of  future  legislation,  leading  usually  to  intermina- 
ble debates,  and  to  an  uncertain  result ;  as  is  illustrated  by  the 
"  Cumberland  Road;"  by  our  desultory  system  of  permanent 
Fortifications  ;  and  by  nearly  all  our  other  Public  Works. 

My  plan  is,  that  individuals  shall  furnish  $2,000,000  real 
Money,  and  that  the  Nation  shall  lend  to  the  Company,  United 
States  6  per  cent.  Stocks,  to  the  amount  of  $98,000,000.  This 
act  once  passed,  the  contract,  once  thus  made,  between  the  Na- 
tion and  the  Company,  leaves  only  one  thing  more  to  be  done, 
viz.  To  move  onward  till  the  completion  of  the  Road,  and  never  to 
halt,  not  even  for  a  moment,  until  the  impatience  and  the  neces- 
sities  of  the  NatioJi  are  satisfied,  by  having  the  Rail  Road  ifi 
actual  use. 

The  advantage  of  the  Rail  Road,  being  entirely  conducted  by 
a  Company,  (which,  in  case  of  loss,  is  to  be  the  1st  loser  of  its 
$2,000,000,)  is  also  that  it  places  the  Rail  Road,  in  the  hands 
of  more  economical  and  better  practical  managers,  and  takes  it 
out  of  the  vortex  of  politics. 

Again,  the  advantage  of  its  being  done  by  a  Company,  is, 
that  no  freak  of  future  Legislation,  by  the  United  States,  can 
arrest  or  impede  the  work.  The  contract,  once  made  by  the 
Nation,  with  a  private  Company,  must  be  carried  into  effect ; 
whereas,  if  it  is  simply  a  Public  Work,  it  is  very  naturally^ 
at  every  session,  a  subject  of  debate, — of  political  squabble, — of 
delay, — ajid  of  change. 

If,  then,  the  people  decide  that  this  Rail  Road  shall  be  built, 
with  all  possible  speed,  is  it  not  perfectly  clear,  that  the  plan  I 
offer,  is  the  only  plan,  as  yet  proposed,  which  will,  at  once,  se- 
cure the  object  PRACTICALLY,  MATHEMATICALLY, 
AND  IRREVOCABLY  ? 

Yours  respectfully, 

P.  P.  F.  DEGRAND. 


16 


RAIL  ROAD  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Atlas : 

Boston,  February  24,  1849. 

Gentlemen: — Agreeably  to  your  request,  I  will  submit  to 
the  consideration  of  my  fellow  citizens,  some  additional  reasons 
in  favor  of  my  plan : — 

If  it  be  said  that  the  loan  of  $98,000,000  of  United  States  6 
per  cent,  stock  and  the  gift  of  the  road-way  and  of  depot- 
grounds,  and  of  materials  from  the  public  lands,  and  of  a  strip 
ten  miles  wide,  on  the  North  side  of  the  Railroad,  is  too  great 
a  boon  to  grant  to  any  company,  the  reply  is,  that  the  stock- 
holders of  that  company  can  get  nothing,  from  these  gifts,  until 
the  road  is  completed,  (viz :  until   after  the  expiration  of  five 
years) — and  even  then,  can  get  nothing,  unless  their  enterprise 
is  conducted  with  indefatigable  attention,  with  great  skill  and 
with  economy.     It  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  the  stockholders 
run   the   whole  risk  of  the    operation,  by  the   loss   of  their 
$2,000,000,  if  the  operation  should  result  in  a  loss; — whereas 
the  nation  will  still  be  a  very  great  gainer,  even  if  it  lost  the 
whole  amount,  which  it  loans  to  the  company.     Not  only  so, 
but  it  is  for  the  public  interest  that  the  profits  of  the  stock- 
holders of  this  company  should  be  large ;  because  these  profits 
will  create  an  impulse,  which  will  cover  the  Great  West  with  a 
web  of  Rail  Roads,  and  thus  add  immense  sums  to  the  value  of 
our  vast  public  domain,  and  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the 
whole  nation.     It  is  by  the  profits  of  the  leading  New  England 
lines  that  the  impulse  has  been  given  to  cover  New  England  with 
a  web  of  Rail  Roads, — and  it  is  to  the  aid  of  the  State,  given  to 
several  of  our  first  lines,  that  these  first  lines  owe  their  very 
existence.     To  the  Western  Rail  Road,  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts furnished  the  loan  of  its  credit  to  an  amount,  which,  con- 
sidering the  then  state  of  the  Rail  Road  art,  and  the  objects  to 
be  attained,  and  considering  the  resources  of  Massachusetts,  as 
compared  with  the  resources  of  the  whole  United  States,  may 


VI 

fairly  be  said  to  exceed,  b}'-  far,  the  credit  now  proposed  for  the 
United  States,  in  aid  of  the  San  Francisco  Rail  Road  ;  and  it 
may  be  well  to  remark  that  the  aid  given,  by  Massachusetts 
State  Stocks,  to  the  Norwich  Rail  Road,  Western  Rail  Road, 
Eastern  Rail  Road,  Boston  and  Maine  Rail  Road,  Nashua 
Rail  Road,  and  New  Bedford  Rail  Road,  has  produced  much 
public  good,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  cent  to  the  public 
treasury,  and  without  the  delay  of  one  day  in  the  payment,  by 
each  Rail  Road,  of  the  amount,  as  fast  as  due,  on  the  State  stocks. 
Nor  do  I  perceive  any  chance  of  loss  to  the  United  States,  in 
the  loan  of  their  name,  as  now  proposed,  by  me ;  or  any  chance 
of  delinquency,  if  my  plan  is  adopted  as  a  whole. 

Again,  these  individual  profits  of  the  proposed  company,  (if 
they  should  be  made,)  are  like  dust  in  the  balance,  when  com- 
pared to  the  iron-will  of  the  sovereign  people,  pointing  to  the 
imperative  necessity  of  the  immediate  completion  of  the  St. 
Louis  and  San  Francisco  Rail  Road ;  a  work  whose  very  ex- 
istence will  give  us  the  mastery  of  the  Pacific  and  of  the  In- 
dia Seas,  thereby  averting  foreign  wars,  by  warning  foreign 
powers  of  the  necessity  of  being  on  good  terms  with  so  power- 
ful a  country  as  ours ;  a  work,  whose  very  existence  will  ward 
off  all  danger  of  Indian  wars ;  a  work  which  will  enable  us  to 
carry  the  mail  and  to  transmit  telegraphic  intelligence,  in  the  only 
way  worthy  of  the  age  we  live  in  ;  a  work  which  will  furnish  a 
great  mart,  in  Oregon  and  in  California,  for  the  agricultural 
products  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  for  the  domestic  fabrics 
of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States ;  in  fine,  a  work  which  will 
render  indissoluble  the  ties  of  our  ancient,  with  our  modern 
possessions. 

Another  distinguishing  feature  of  my  plan  is.  THE  RE- 
QUIREMENT THAT  ALL  THE  MATERIALS,  USED 
FOR  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  RAILROAD, 
SHALL  BE  OF  DOMESTIC  ORIGIN;  THUS  CREAT- 
ING,  BY  A  SINGLE  ACT  OF  LEGISLATION, 

$100,000,000 
WORTH     OF     AMERICAN     LABOR     TO     BE    REAL- 
IZED WITHIN   A    FEW    YEARS,  AND    TO    BE  PAID 
FOR,  IN  GOOD  MONEY— and  thus  vivifying  the  iron  busi- 
3 


id 

ness  of  Missouri  and  Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  American  in- 
dustry all  over  the. United  States,  including  the  agricultural 
industry  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  A  very  large  amount  of 
the  Flour,  Beef,  Pork,  Butter  and  Cheese  of  that  valley  will 
necessarily  be  consumed,  on  the  Rail  Road,  while  in  construc- 
tion. It  will  be  consumed  by  the  various  mechanics,  employed 
every  where  in  the  United  States,  in  bringing  forth  the  iron 
rails,  locomotives,  cars,  digging  machines,  pickaxes  and  shov- 
els, used  by  the  road,  not  only  while  in  construction,  but  after 
it  is  built  and  until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

Even  the  Cotton-planting  and  the  Sugar-raising  States  will 
come  in  for  a  share,  to  a  large  amount,  in  the  consumption  of 
these  staples,  created  by  the  construction  and  existence  of  the 
St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco  Railroad. 

Again,  let  him  who  makes  objections  to  any  portion  of  my 
plan,  bring  forward  a  better  plan,  which  (free  from  objections) 
will  yet  attain  (as  my  plan  certainly  does)  the  great  object, 
viz :  SECURING  PRACTICALLY,  IRREVOCABLY  AND 
MATHEMATICALLY,  AND  BY  A  SINGLE  ACT  OF 
LEGISLATION,  THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  ST. 
LOUIS  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO  RAILROAD,  IN  THE 
LEAST  POSSIBLE  TIME. 

Yours  respectfully, 

P.  P.  F.  DEGRAND. 


E. 

RAIL  ROAD  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Remarks  by  P.  P.  F.  Degrand,  at  the  Complimentary  Dinner 
GIVEN  TO  William  Parker,  March  13,  1849. 

I  take  a  different  view  from  that  which  has  been  presented  by 
the  distinguished  speakers,  who  have  preceded  me.  So  far  from 
lamenting  the  departure  of  our  valued  friend,  I  rejoice  in  his  pro- 
motion to  a  higher  salary,  and  especially  to  a  more  enlarged 


19 

sphere  of  action : — 1  glory  in  it,  and  I  trust  that  many  more  of 
our  meritorious  engineers  and  superintendents  will  be  called 
upon  from  our  New  England  schools,  to  lucrative  places  iu 
other  States,  to  carry  into  their  Rail  Roads  the  practical  talent 
and  economy,  which  can  alone  secure  good  dividends. 

Good  dividends,  founded  on  actual  net  profits,  depend  much 
on  the  administration  of  a  Rail  Road.  If  well  administered, 
about  one  half  of  the  gross  income  goes  for  expenses.  If  admin- 
istered without  proper  system,  intelligence  and  economy,  the 
gross  revenue  is  diminished,  the  expense  is  increased,  and  the 
net  income  is  very  apt  to  be  "  null  and  void !" 

Good  dividends  are  essential  to  the  extension  of  the  system ; 
because  these  dividends  attract  naturally  the  loose  capital  of 
widows  and  orphans,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  surplus  earn- 
ings of  the  whole  community.  The  New  England  Rail  Roads 
have  thereby  become  a  grand  reservoir  of  Savings  Banks,  on  a 
grand  scale  and  on  a  profitable  scale.  Bad  as  the  year  1848  has 
been,  as  to  business  generally,  the  vast  amount  invested  in  the 
completed  Rail  Roads  in  New  England,  has,  in  that  year,  av- 
eraged more  than  7  per  cent,  net  dividend.  What  other  line  of 
business  can  boast  of  a  like  result  in  the  disastrous  year  1848? 
and  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  this  result  is  mainly  due  to  the 
intelligence,  economy  and  thrift  of  New  England  administra- 
tion, in  making  good  Rail  Roads,  and  carrying  them  on  in  the 
best  way. 

I  rejoice,  then,  that  our  friend  is  taken  from  one  of  our  suc- 
cessful Rail  Roads,  to  carry  thrift,  economy,  and  consequent 
profit,  to  the  great  line  of  roads  from  Baltimore  to  the  Ohio. 
The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail  Road  belongs  to  our  fellow  citi- 
zens, and  to  our  common  country — their  thrift  is  our  thrift ;  as 
is  the  thrift  of  every  portion  of  our  vast  empire.  I  shall  rejoice 
to  meet  this  line  at  the  converging  point,  when  it  is  prolonged 
to  St.  Louis,  in  Missouri.  I  shall  rejoice  to  meet  it,  at  St.  Louis, 
by  our  Boston  Lines — "  The  Boston  and  Buffalo  Rail  Road," 
and  "  The  Boston  and  Ogdensburg  Rail  Road,"  also  prolonged 
to  St.  Louis, — which  they  all  will  inevitably  be,  at  no  distant 
(Jay,— and  1  glory,  in  the  anticipation  of  our  onward  march,  in 
triple  alliance,  on  the  Grand  National  Central  Rail  Road,  from 


30 

St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco — in  company  with  our  friend  T.  H. 
Benton,  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  daughter. 

Mr.  President, — This  Rail  Road  to  San  Francisco  is  a  great 
project,  worthy  of  a  great  people.  It  is  a  great  project,  and 
should  be  carried  to  completion,  with  a  celerity  worthy  of  our- 
selves— and  this  can  be  done,  by  the  adoption  of  the  plan  I  pro- 
pose. Of  the  efficiency  of  this  plan,  none  are  better  able  to 
judge  than  the  intelligent  men  now  around  me. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  this  plan  is,  that  one  single 
ACT  OF  Legislation  shall  suffice  to  secure,  practically,  mathe- 
matically, AND  irrevocably,  ITS  COMPLETION  IN  THE  SHORTEST  TIME 

allowed  by  ITS  PHYSICAL  OBSTACLES.  This  wiU  be  secured,  by 
confiding  the  care  of  it  to  a  company,  into  which,  individuals  are 
to  pay  $2,000,000  real  money,  and  to  which  the  Government 
are  to  lend  $98,000,000  of  United  States  6  per  cent,  stock.  Tan- 
gible means  J  thus  created^  will  enable  us  to  finish  the  road,  within 
the  present  term  of  Gen.  Taylor'* s  Presidency, 

Once  confided  to  a  private  Company,  no  future  freak  of  legis- 
lation can  arrest  or  impede  its  march,  as  could  be  done,  at  every 
session  of  Congress,  if  it  were  merely  a  public  work.  We,  of 
New  England,  who,  in  the  last  year,  have  opened  500  miles  of 
Rail  Roads,  amidst  all  the  difficulties  of  the  money-market, 
will  certainly  be  capable  (if  tangible  means  are  thus  confided 
to  us)  of  constructing  and  carrying  into  operation,  the  1600 
miles,  from  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco,  before  March  4th,  1853; 
for  there  are,  on  that  line,  no  obstacles  greater  than  we  have,  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  met  and  conquered  on  the  rugged, 
rocky  surface  of  New  England.  Neither  is  it  to  be  feared  that 
the  snows  of  the  West  will  arrest  our  trains,  while  we  are  able, 
in  the  mountains  of  Berkshire,  to  pass  without  interruption, 
through  drifts  of  snow  higher  than  the  top  of  the  chimney  of 
our  Locomotives. 

If  the  Rail  Road  to  San  Francisco  is  undertaken  as  a  public 
work,  we  are  warned  by  the  fate  of  our  system  of  permanent 
fortifications,  that  the  great  resurrection  gun  may  fire,  before  its 
completion.  Our  system  of  permanent  fortifications  was  devised 
by  Gen.  Bernard,  first  appointed  to  attend  to  it,  in  1816.  This 
system  met  with  the  approbation  of  the  Executive,  of  Congress, 


21 

and  of  the  nation,  and  deservedly  so :  for  it  was  the  production 
of  a  master  mind ;  the  production  of  the  intimate  friend  and 
companion,  and  pupil  of  the  highly  gifted  military  genius  of  the 
age ;  and  it  was  sustained  by  the  reasoning  of  that  master- 
mind, carrying  conviction  of  its  necessity,  and  of  its  efficien- 
cy.— 33  years  have  already  elapsed,  since,  by  universal  as- 
sent, the  system  was  thus  confided  to  the  man  who  commanded 
universal  approbation ;  and  where  is  the  system  ?  Where  was 
it  when  we  were  threatened  with  a  war  with  two  of  the  most 
formidable  powers  in  the  world — France  and  England  ?  I  ask, 
where  was  it  then  ?  And  where  is  it  now  ?  Alas  !  it  is  as  yet, 
at  its  threshold — incomplete — inefficient — and  likely  to  be  so  for 
fifty  years  to  come ! 

The  extra  expense  (over  and  beyond  the  cost  by  Rail  Road) 
in  money,  and  in  time,  of  carrying  from  the  United  States  to 
California,  150,000  persons,  and  of  bringing  back  50,000  per- 
sons a  year,  is  estimated  at  $67,750,000  per  annum.  The  Rail- 
Road,  from  St.  Louis  to  San  Francisco,  will  cost  $100,000,000, 
and  of  course,  the  hastening  its  completion,  even  two  years, 
will  more  than  cover  the  whole  expense  of  its  construction  and 
equipment. 

And  a  delay  of  fifty  years^  in  carrying  this  Rail  Road  to 
completion,  will  (by  this  mere  diflference  in  the  cost  of  transpor- 
tation) waste^for  the  nation^  $3,375,000,000;  a  sum,  a  hundred 
times  as  large  as  all  the  specie  now  in  the  United  States  !  a  sum, 
which  the  most  sanguine  man  dare  not  predict,  as  the  gathering 
of  the  California  mines,  during  a  whole  century  to  come  ! 

The  existence  of  the  Rail  Road  will  place  California  within 
the  reach  of  our  fellow  citizens  generally.  At  two  cents  per  mile, 
for  first  class  cars,  the  fare  (for  3000  miles,  from  Boston  to  San 
Francisco)  will  be  only  $60,  making  (with  the  food  and  time 
for  five  days)  a  total  of  only  $80.  It  will  be  only  half  that 
sum,  for  second  class  cars.  At  twenty-five  miles  per  hour,  the 
passage  from  Boston  to  San  Francisco,  will  be  made  in  five 
days ;  whereas,  now  it  averages  one  hundred  days,  taking  the 
various  routes,  viz :  round  Cape  Horn ;  through  the  Straits  of 
Magellan  ;  over  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  ;  and  over-land. 


22 

The  loss  of  time,  and  the  great  sum  of  money,  necessary  now 
to  make  a  trip  to  California,  are  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
generality  of  our  enterprising  young  men ;  because  $500  worth 
of  time  and  money  must  be  wasted  by  the  present  mode  of  pas- 
sage. Even  for  those  who  have  at  hand  the  needful  sum,  it  is  a 
great  hardship  to  be  obliged  thus  to  waste  it,  instead  of  keeping 
it  as  a  nucleus  of  their  future  fortune.  Yery  few  of  our  richest 
men  in  Boston  began  their  career  with  a  sum  in  hand  sufficient 
to  carry  them  to  California  at  the  present  time. 

Another  distinguishing  feature  of  my  plan  is^  that  all  the  ma- 
terials employed  in  constructing  and  equipping  the  Rail  Road 
to  San  Francisco  shall  be  of  domestic  origin ;  thus  creating, 

IRREVOCABLY,  BY  A  sInGLE  ACT  OF  LEGISLATION,  $100,000,000  WORTH 

OF  American  labor,  in  which^  practically^  every  State  in  the  Un- 
ion will  participate. 

A  private  company  will  construct  and  equip  the  Rail  Road 
much  more  economically  than  the  government,  and  make  a  sav- 
ing of  at  least  one  third  in  the  expenditure. 

The  existence  of  this  Rail  Road  will  defend  California  and 
Oregon,  and  will  avert  Indian  wars.  North  and  South  of  its  line. 
In  the  transportation  of  seamen,  of  troops,  of  munitions  of  War, 
and  of  the  Mail,  a  great  saving  will  be  made  to  the  public  Trea- 
sury. 

If  it  be  said  that  the  plan  proposed  by  me,  of  a  private  Com- 
pany, (furnishing  $2,000,000  real  capital,  and  aided  by  the 
loan  of  United  States  Stock  to  the  amount  of  $98,000,000,) 
will  not  work  well,  we  need  only  refer  to  the  well  known  favor- 
able result  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Rail  Road,  in  which  Jths 
of  the  capital  was  furnished  by  stocks  of  the  State  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  of  the  city  of  Albany.  A  well-conducted  Rail 
Road  has  but  one  thing  to  do,  viz. :  To  serve  the  public  well, 
as  it  thereby  promotes  its  own  interest,  as  well  as  its  own  self- 
satisfaction. 

The  plan  which  I  propose^  will  finish  the  Road  in  4  years. 
Should  a  delay  of  50  years  arise  from  pursuing  some  otherplan, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  our  population  is  marked  out  by  our 
past  experience,  as  destined,  during  those  50  years,  to  increase 
from  its  present  number  of  22  millions,  to  the  vast  number  of  88 


23 

millions ;  and  in  these  50  years,  two  generations,  will  have 
passed  to  the  grave ;  and  let  it  also  be  remembered,  that  the 
loss  of  interest,  on  the  cost  of  construction,  during  50  years,  will 
much  more  than  four-fold  its  cost. 

The  plan  which  I  propose ^  willfijiish  the  Road  in  4.  y  ear s^  and 
thenceforth  every  mother  in  the  old  United  States,  will  be  ena- 
bled to  hear  from  her  son,  if  in  California,  within  7  days,  by 
regular  mail,  and  almost  instantaneously  by  telegraph.  Every 
mother^  then,  and  every  sister,  and  every  one  of  the  fair  sister- 
hood, whose  friend  may  have  gone  to  that  distant  land,  will 
cherish  a  plan,  which  will  thus  give  her  news,  and  give  her  the 
chance  of  a  prompt  return,  or  of  a  flying  visit  from  her  relative 
or  friend.  Let  me  then  commend  the  plan  to  their  fostering 
care.  This  care  will  be  a  sure  harbinger  of  success — as  suc- 
cess, in  the  adoption  of  the  plan,  is  to  be  founded  on  public  sen- 
timent ;  which,  from  their  gentle  hands,  can  receive,  impercep- 
tibly, the  desired  impress. 

If  the  gift  by  the  United  States,  of  10  miles  of  land,  on  the 
North  side  of  the  Rail  Road,  and  of  depot  grounds,  and  of  ma- 
terials from  the  public  lands,  should  prove  advantageous  to  the 
Company,  it  will  (without  cost  to  the  public,)  reward  their  en- 
terprise, industry  and  indefatigable  attention,  and  it  will  also 
lead  to  the  establishment  of  other  Rail  Roads,  in  the  great  West, 
thereby  advancing  very  much  the  value  of  our  public  lands,  as 
well  as  the  welfare  of  the  Republic. 

The  mere  existence  of  the  Rail  Road  to  San  Francisco,  will 
add  to  the  value  of  our  public  lands,  an  amount  more  than  cov- 
ering its  whole  cost.  By  creating  this  additional  value,  at  an 
early  day^  it  will  add  still  more  to  the  means  of  wealth  of  the 
whole  country. 

The  existence  of  this  Rail  Road  will  render  our  union  with 
our  fellow  citizens  in  California,  and  in  Oregon,  indissoluble.  It 
will  afford  the  means  of  transmitting  government  orders ;  gen- 
eral news  and  private  intelligence  by  telegraph  j  and  of  trans- 
mitting the  mail,  in  the  only  way  worthy  of  the  age  we  live  in. 
It  will  furnish  a  great  market  for  the  productions  of  the  South, 
and  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  for  the  manufactures,  fisher- 
ies and  imports  of  the  Atlantic  States. 


24 

St.  Loui&  is  marked  out  as  the  proper  starting  point,  by  the 
feasibiUty  of  the  route  starting  thence,  and  by  its  being  a  central 
place,  ah-eady  accessible  by  steam,  to  every  portion  of  the 
United  States,  North,  South,  and  East  of  it. 

Common  sense  then  dictates  the  adoption,  at  the  eaeliest 
day,  of  some  plan,  which,  like  the  one  i  propose,  shall  secure, 
at  once,  practically,   mathematically,   and   irrevocably,   the 

COMPLETION  OF  THIS  RaIL  RoAD,  IN  THE  SHORTEST  POSSIBLE  TIME.       I 

rejoice  that  we  shall  have  with  us  the  Maryland  Pioneer  Line. 
Near  the  seat  of  Government,  their  aid  will  be  of  great  value  to 
illumine  the  path  which  is  to  lead  to  National  honor,  National 
convenience.  National  interest,  and  National  glory. 

Let  us  invoke  the  friends  of  Internal  Improvements  through- 
out the  Union  ;  let  us  invoke  the  Public  Press,  that  mighty  en- 
gine, ever  ready  to  move,  for  great  National  good.  Let  us  re- 
solve that  this  great  National  Work  shall  be  carried  to  completion^ 
in  a  shorter  time,  than  any  work  of  equal  magnitude  was  ever 
constructed  by  any  other  Nation  !  And  in  conclusion  let  us 
say : — New  England  tact  and  talent,  in  building  and  in  admin- 
istering Rail  Roads. — May  this  tact  and  talent  spread  its  innu- 
merable benefits  throughout  our  vast  empire  ! 


■^/^' 


HE 


\ 


